Chandigarh: Notwithstanding the bitter political wrangling between them during the high-octane poll process in Punjab, SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal has decided to invite his political rival Congress` Amarinder Singh for his swearing-in as chief minister for the fifth term.
Besides Amarinder, CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal`s name also figures in the list of invitees for the swearing-in ceremony on March 14 at Chappar Chiri in Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) district. Sources close to Badal said he will send formal invitations to Punjab Congress top leaders urging them to forget the traditional political rivalry.
In the letter of invite to be sent to the Congress leaders, Badal has appealed to them to forget political rivalry and start afresh for the larger interest of welfare and development of the state, they said.
In the run up to the Assembly polls, allegations and counter-allegations between Amarinder and Badal used to be larger part of their speeches during public gatherings.
The long list of invitees also include Uttar Pradesh`s newly-elected CM Akhilesh Yadav, his father and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, his father and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, Himachal Pardesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, Madhya Pardesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Among others invited are BJP leaders L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.
The SAD-BJP alliance got absolute majority in the 117-member House, winning 68 seats whereas opposition Congress managed to get only 46 seats.
PTI